Uniland Development Co.

Scope Of Work

The Challenge

After an extensive national site search, GEICO, the second-largest auto insurance company in the U.S. and a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, chose Uniland Development Company to design and build its Northeast Operations Center in Uniland’s CrossPoint Business Park. GEICO required a site and a developer that could deliver a custom facility for 2,500 employees within 11 months. The center would be among GEICO’s largest and would include unique features such as a restaurant-style cafeteria, health and fitness center, raised-floor data center, and redundant HVAC and electrical systems.

The Strategy

Uniland planned to use its in-house design/build capabilities and experience fast-tracking project construction to work concurrently on different aspects of the project. Its multi-functional team of professionals could expedite regulatory approvals, subcontractor and supplier coordination, and economic development incentives in order to ensure delivery within 11 months. Uniland’s in-house value-engineering process would ensure the project would meet the time frame and budget.

During the interior design phase and one month prior to receiving a full building permit, Uniland was already working with Town of Amherst officials to start site development. At this point, Uniland also pre-ordered certain building materials and equipment, including structural steel, steel joists and deck, HVAC equipment, and a diesel generator.

Results

With major effort from the Uniland team and equally significant cooperation among the many different firms involved in the construction of the new building, Uniland was able to meet GEICO’s tight 11-month development schedule. The facility features all of the amenities GEICO envisioned and has become a fast growing hub for the company. In 2010 alone, GEICO added 801 jobs total to its 12 major locations nationwide – 347 of them were in Uniland’s CrossPoint location. Since then, GEICO’s operations have grown to include a workforce of more than 3,000 employees on CrossPoint Parkway.